Father Of 13-Year-Old Who Died In TikTok 'Benadryl Challenge' Warns Parents Of Dangers
02.05.2023 - 22:41
/ perezhilton.com
The father of 13-year-old Jacob Stevens has a message for all parents following his son’s tragic death.
As you may have heard, the young teen from Ohio died last month as a result of an overdose on allergy medication — he was participating in a viral challenge making a wave on TikTok called the “Benadryl challenge.” The trend has been around for years, with the goal being to take 12-14 pills of the antihistamine in order to induce a hallucinogenic high. It’s very dangerous and has reportedly claimed the lives of several people. So, so sad.
Related: 16-Year-Old Burned 80 Percent Of His Body After TikTok Challenge
According to Justin Stevens, the boy’s father, Jacob was home alone with friends when he attempted the challenge. Instead of getting high, though, his body started seizing. Heartbreakingly, when he was brought to the hospital he was put on a ventilator, and his brain scans showed no activity. He was declared braindead and his family had to make the hard decision to take him off of the vent. Six days after taking the medicine, he died.
The grieving family isn’t letting their son’s death be senseless, though, as they have decided to speak out against these dangerous internet trends — Justin in particular doesn’t want other parents to have to experience what he’s going through. While speaking with The US Sun over the weekend, the dad said:
He felt now more than ever it was important to warn families and younger kids of the horrors of his son’s “bad decision” and the “freak accident” that took his life:
Just gut-wrenching…
The heartbroken dad also took time at Jacob’s funeral last Wednesday to warn his son’s friends attending about the dangerous trend:
Justin also said he’s trying to get companies to enforce age